getting back in the hobby - a few questions

[nevada]

hello!
i am thinking og getting back into the hobby after a 5 year break. the tank i wil be using is a 100G. it seems that the wet/dry filter is still a mainstay (this is what i have). my current plan is to use faux coral (there seems to wuite few great false corals out now) for the tank and go with fish only but i have a few questions:
1. can you keep urchins and crabs in a fish only faux equipped tank?
2. will clown fish inahbit a fake anenome?
3. i have seen numerous fake pieces that look great but am looking for a "wall" to set at th back of the tank as well. does such a thing exhist.
4. live rock seems to great as well. will live rock be affected by, or cause the population of, other non live rock like lava rock? in other words could i buy a few pieces and put it in the tank and eventually have the life spread?
5. does live rock require special lighting requirements? (main reason i am looking into the faux corals).
my plan is to use a this layer of sand at the bottom (notsure how much - thoughts?) with the faux corals and possibly live rock. main filtration would be a trickle filter, protein skimmer (recommendations?). i would use power heads to create circualtion. any thoughts, recommendations, or ideas would be greatly appreciated! any pic would be great too.
Nevada

 

[tizzo]

1. You can if the fish do not have crabs or urchins as part of their diet.
2. They can but there is no guarantee.
3.You can drill out rock and slide a piece of PVC through it to make it stand as a wall. Superglue gel is also safe to use, but be careful you do not create spots you cannot get to. If you have a sick fish get back there you will not be able to retrieve him.
4. You can mix live and dead rock. Lava rock is only called that cause the name is cool. It's not actually from volcanoes, that'd be dangerous. But yes the critters will spread thus making your dead rock, live.
5. No lighting requirements for live rock.
-100 gallon tank, you should use 100 pounds of live sand.
HTH

 

[nevada]

my fish list so far will include a yellow tang, a blue tang, a pair of clowns (not sure what type yet - as kid i was "attacked" once while diving in the red sea - liked them ever since , a koran angle (had one before and liked him allot), and maybe a few smaller fish. i have not done much research on fish yet. i have spent most of the time so far looking over equipment options and what i can use from my old setup. if live rock does not require fancy exspensive lighting i think i will go with that and add some of the faux corals to add the reef look. what type of lights d oyou guys use? the tank is 5 foot long so i figure i will need at least 2 48 inch bulbs. any recommendations on a hood (or other fixture type) and type of bulbs would be appreciated.
Nevada

 

[sinner's girl]

what are "faux corals"
also, tangs should be kept in threes, I thought, can you have two, each being different?

 

[nevada]

i kept a single tang in my previous tan setup and he got along fine. not sure if there is supposed to be three. i thought tangs got along so long as there was pelnty of room to roam around. is this not correct? the faux (false) corals are just the replicas of real ones. i figured i would use them as they are easier to take care of and dont require exspensive lighting

 

[tizzo]

Tangs, specifically yellow tangs can be kept in a very large aquarium in larger numbers. Odd numbers seem to be the vote. As far as two different species and more specifically, two different colors, that rule does not apply.

 

[sinner's girl]

I know one's fine, for some reason I thought they needed to be kept in odd numbers, that might only be if they are the same, meaning two yellows would have a problem. Not sure.

 

[mikeyjer]

Tangs with similar shape may fight, but it depends on each individual fish's personality. If you place the tangs in at the sametime, there's a lesser chance of aggression towards one another. I have kept two tangs in the same tank once without a problem, I bought them together, a sailfan and a yellow tang. But when I place the sailfan with a different yellow tang, they fought constantly and I had to separate them apart. I have kept 2 yellow tang with that sailfan without any problem what so ever. It just depends! Good to have another tank just in case something like that happens. :happyfish